Vision Zero, a project aimed at preventing road accidents and casualties on Mumbai-Pune Highway (NH 48), was unveiled on Friday. The initiative seeks to spread awareness of road safety and suggest engineering solutions to bring down accidents and fatalities.
The drive is being implemented by SaveLIFE Foundation in collaboration with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and Volkswagen Group India. SaveLife Foundation has been implementing Vision Zero on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway since 2016 and has achieved a 30% reduction in accidents in the first two years.
Piyush Tewari, CEO, SaveLIFE Foundation, said, “Road safety is an issue that requires strong political will combined with deep inter-agency cooperation. We are grateful that both are possible in Maharashtra and are certain that the initiative will create a safer NH 48.”
R.L. Mopalwar, vice-chairman and MD of MSRDC, said road safety needs to be integrated into the execution of infrastructure projects from the planning stage, and must be the policy makers’ primary concern. There are over 145 road crashes recorded on national highways, which is around 35% of all road crashes in the country.
The initiative addresses road engineering solutions, improved post-crash emergency care, comprehensive research, better police enforcement and grassroot community engagement to develop a pool of first responders on the 111-km stretch.
Published - August 10, 2019 01:34 am IST
